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Showing Original Post only (View all)Hurricanes. I've been through them, I've also been a relief worker. Here is what I wish more people knew. [View all]
I've ranted here over the years about why we shouldn't judge people harshly over their decision to evacuate or hunker down. What I haven't done is weigh in as much on the aftermath. Probably because it is a very touchy nerve with me. Human beings are judgmental creatures, we just are. We make assumptions about behavior and that can lead to unintentional insensitive or insulting comments. I have bitten my tongue many times over the years because I know comments that have rubbed me the wrong way were rooted in ignorance, not malice.
I've done relief work after a variety of disasters, and there are a lot of similarities. But hurricanes can be unique so I'm going to focus on them since they are so top of mind right now. Hurricane Hugo, if anyone remembers that monster, was my first up close and personal experience with a catastrophic hurricane. And my first experience as a relief worker.
If you haven't been on the ground in the wake of devastation, it really is impossible to understand. News footage can't convey what it is like. Because watching it on television, you don't experience the heat, humidity, bugs, exhaustion, confusion, stink, oh god does it smell!
Getting relief to people when there are physical barriers (downed lines, washed out roads, debris) is difficult enough. Add changing conditions, communication disruptions, follow on adverse weather conditions, and well-meaning people getting in the way and it is daunting to say the least. This is why you will always see me railing against politicians coming in for their photo ops too soon and people trying to donate stuff instead of money.
If you aren't part of an organized relief effort, stay the fuck away and just send money!
You know what supplies we had the hardest time acquiring and distributing? Feminine hygiene products. I hope that has changed a lot since the early 2000s.
The following is a response I made to another post regarding a survivor's comments in a media interview.
"We cannot expect people who have been traumatized to speak eloquently, even coherently. Rationality can be in as short a supply as food and water. I cannot emphasize how psychologically, emotionally, and physically damaging living through something like this can be. Your sense of reality is gone. You're desperately coming to terms with what happened, how you're going to make it through the next minute, and trying to figure out your future simultaneously. I'm not going to hold anyone accountable for what they say at a time like this. No clue what was going through her head at that moment."
You know that sense of dissociation from reality we had after 09/11 and when we heard Trump was elected in 2016? If you've lost a loved one suddenly or been the victim of a crime, this is the cognitive experience I'm talking about. Your brain struggles to adapt to a new reality. And it isn't a constant feeling, it can crash over you in devastating waves. "Wait, this isn't supposed to be the way things are!" That often never goes away or takes years to do so.
A hurricane is a wind event that blows things to smithereens and pierces hard objects with the unlikeliest projectiles.
A hurricane is a tsunami event that slams into things and relocates them far away.
A hurricane is a flood event that soaks into everything in its path and leaves them bobbing about..or drowning them completely.
A hurricane is a heat event that kills with loss of power for days or weeks on end.
A hurricane is a biological event that allows dangerous molds to grow and mosquitos to swarm.
A hurricane is a widespread event that can leave a broad swath of devastation in its wake, hundreds of miles wide and hundreds of miles long.
A hurricane is a psychological event that can render the sound of thunder or pounding rain paralyzing for the rest of your life.
The numbers of deaths reported in the wake of a hurricane represent not just the people killed, but their friends, families, colleagues, and communities that they were a part of. When hundreds die, thousands personally mourn and are changed forever.
Hurricanes (well, natural disasters in general) wreak their havoc for not just days, or even weeks. But months and years (yes, even lifetimes) for the people and communities that were hit hardest.
Surviving a natural disaster is traumatic. Trauma. With a capital T. And that trauma becomes a part of you.
You know what gets lost in recovery and relief efforts? The psychological impact down the road. The PTSD is horrific and too many people don't recognize it as such and/or don't have access to help.
